CLEVELAND MONSTERS: Blue Jackets Assign Left Wing Markus Hannikainen

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Monsters, proud American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, announced Wednesday that the Blue Jackets assigned left wing Markus Hannikainen to the Monsters. In 27 appearances for Columbus this season, Hannikainen posted 2-2-4 with six penalty minutes and a -1 rating and added 0-2-2 with a -1 rating in six appearances for Cleveland.

In 41 career NHL appearances for the Blue Jackets spanning three seasons from 2015-18, Hannikainen, 24, supplied 3-3-6 with 12 penalty minutes and a -3 rating. In 113 career AHL appearances, all for the Monsters, spanning three seasons from 2015-18, Hannikainen, a 6'1", 200 lb., left-handed native of Helsinki, Finland, logged 26-33-59 with 42 penalty minutes and a +11 rating and notched 3-7-10 with two penalty minutes and a +12 rating in 16 appearances in the 2016 AHL Playoffs, helping the Monsters claim the 2016 Calder Cup Championship. In 117 career Liiga appearances for Jokerit, HPK, and JYP spanning parts of four seasons from 2011-15, Hannikainen tallied 22-31-53 with 67 penalty minutes and a +26 rating and represented Finland in the 2012 and 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, and the 2017 IIHF World Championships.

Next up for the Monsters, it's a Thursday home tilt vs. the Grand Rapids Griffins with full coverage, live from The Q, underway at 7:00 pm on Alt 99.1 and the Monsters Hockey Network.

The Cleveland Monsters are part of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena organization and also owned by a group led by Cavaliers Chairman and Quicken Loans Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert. The group also owns and operates the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League playing at Quicken Loans Arena and the Canton Charge of the NBA G League playing in nearby Canton, Ohio at the Canton Civic Center.